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New census figures indicate growth in CA

by Cheryl Devall

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California’s still growing - but not as quickly as before, newly-released census numbers say. For the first time, the state didn’t add a congressional representative after a census count.

California added about 10 percent more people, for a total of just over 37 million.

Almost all the growth came from people of Latino and Asian descent, either through migration, relocation from other states or new births.

The state’s Latino population rose by 28 percent; Asian Americans increased by 31 percent in the last decade.

During the same 10 years the proportion of non-Latino white Californians slipped by 5 percent, and the state’s African American population dropped by 1 percent.

Many factors – including age and the cost of living – drive these demographic trends.

Compared to other Western states, California’s experienced a slow-growth decade. That’s one reason the state’s delegation in Congress stayed the same size from one census to the next for the first time since California joined the union 160 years ago.